Poll: Americans want bonuses returned but split on how

WASHINGTON -- Most Americans want the bonuses paid to AIG executives back, though there are divisions about how to go about doing that.

In a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Saturday and Sunday, 69% of those surveyed say managers at the insurance giant who received a total of $165 million in bonuses should return all of money, while 13% say they should give half of it back.

Just 12% say the executives should be able to pocket the payments. AIG has received more than $170 billion in federal bailout funds. Reports of the bonuses — some of which went to managers in units that contributed to the company's meltdown — sparked a furor last week.

Given the public outcry, "the only surprise is the 12%" who didn't say the money should be returned, says political scientist Darrell West, director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution, a think tank in Washington. "It makes you wonder what planet they're living on."

Half of those surveyed support government action to recoup the funds: 25% by imposing stiff taxes on the bonuses and 26% by taking some other sort of legal steps. An additional 27% say the beneficiaries should be asked to return the funds voluntarily.

The House of Representatives last week passed a bill that would levy a 90% tax on the payments. It is unclear when the Senate will take up a similar measure.

Obama has expressed concerns about the legality of a tax that targets such a small group, however, and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner warns that reclaiming the bonuses retroactively could make companies reluctant to participate in recovery programs, including the administration's new plan to take over banks' most troubled loans.

"We're going to have to work through this and find the right balance," Geithner said Monday. "We need to balance that basic objective that we not reward failure against the hugely important imperative that we get the financial system doing what it needs to do for recovery."

He said the administration will "work with Congress carefully to make sure we get to the point that we find an appropriate balance."